Writing about whatever interests me, and maybe you.

2015-12-11 training log

I don’t know what to attribute it to: the fact I’m getting more food, the structure of the programming, or what, but today went really well.

For example, on inclines I’ve been working up to a single at 175 (no where near a max, just a warmup) then AMRAP at 155. The past some weeks it was evident I was losing strength, stalling at 10 reps for the longest time, then falling to 9. But today, hitting 165 for 8. Could it be the more food? Could it be 3 minutes of rest between each set (whereas before it was only about a minute). Who knows. But I’m happy with how things went. There’s hope!

So that said, one thing about Paul’s programs is that sometimes his writing isn’t crystal clear. So I made the best interpretation I could. Like on inclines. From the way the program reads, it seems it should be 5 sets, working up to a top set of 8-12, followed by a drop and AMRAP. So those work-up sets… are they 8-12 reps each? Because this ramp up is so similar to his traditional 5,4,3,2,1,AMRAP,50% structure that well… I could be just confusing it. BUT, if it’s unclear, then I’ll err on the side of “what the point of the program?”. The point is hypertrophy, so getting lots of volume, hitting 8 reps on each set of the work-up, do that. It won’t be a bad thing.

Same with the curls. Paul basically just said “empty bar, 100 reps”. So… 100 reps, how? Could be taken a lot of ways, especially given how Paul’s talked about “100-rep sets” in other places (e.g. it’s 100 reps, non-stop, 1 set). But I dunno… I knew 100 reps with a 45 lb bar in 1 set wasn’t going to happen. So I opted to take the “inverse protocol” where you get as many reps as possible, then rest for as many seconds as you have reps remaining, repeat until you total 100 reps. That ended up working out for me like 20-something reps to start, then a lot of sets of 10-ish, then some sets of 5-ish, then basically 1-2’s right at the end. Maybe had 12-15 “sets” total in there? Basically a lot of work, and one hell of a pump.

But all in all, today was pretty good. It feels like the “A” days focus on the main movement with some assistance work, but the “B” days are there to really get some extra volume and “grow” — esp. since they allow a little more time then for recovery before the next session. Not sure if that’s an intentional part of program structure, but it sure makes sense.